Chapter XXXVII

JJ almost didn't feel the slight vibration that came from her back pocket. They were all too concentrated on waiting for the door to reopen. Almost robotically, she pulled out her cell phone and half-heartedly read the message.

"Guys." She drew their attention quickly as she finished reading the message from Emily. "We have her name."

"What?" Morgan asked, slightly shocked at the randomness of the information.

"Mackenzie's name." JJ explained. "She woke up long enough to tell Emily."

"Well what-"

"Excuse me?" a deep, accented voice demanded their attention. They turned to see a tall, well-dressed man in his forties making his way towards them. An equally well-dressed woman trailed behind them with a younger girl in tow. Both looked as if they'd been crying. "Are you the FBI?"

"Yes, can we help you?" Hotch stepped forward and asked the man. The two were practically the same height, both with dark hair and a gloomy expression. The stranger's eyes were different though; they were a deep shade of emerald that Hotch was sure he had seen before.

"We were told to speak to you about our daughter?" The man's accent was strong, most likely Eastern European. Hotch frowned.

"Your daughter?" he asked. "I'm not sure how we can-"

"She is in this room, is she not? Ana?" At the sound of the name, JJ approached the man.

"Yes, your daughter is here and she's just fine. We have an agent in there with her right now." The woman behind him broke down in tears, collapsing to the ground and taking the younger girl with her. The girl placed her hand on the woman's back and tried to soothe her in a language neither JJ or Hotch could place.

"I want to see her." The man took a step forward. "I want to see her right now."

"Sir, I'm afraid she's resting now." JJ raised a hand defensively. "We'll come get you as soon as-"

"I was not asking your permission!" The man raised a large hand and shoved JJ to the side as he plowed his way towards the door. The blonde stumbled and fell over, cradling her side as she did, and Reid rushed to her aid. Morgan stepped in front of the man and placed a hand on his hip.

"Back off!" He yelled, one arm outstretched to keep the man at bay. Rossi and Hotch surrounded the man in an instant, ignoring the wails of the woman behind them.

"Tată, nu! Te rog, doar să fie pacient! O putem vedea într-un pic." A small voice cried from behind. They all turned to stare at the little girl, no older than 10.

"Nu-mi va spune ce să faci Alexia! Eu sunt tatăl tău, acum fă ce ți se spune și să tacă!" the man bellowed back but the girl refused to back down.

"Please, papa." The girl's large green eyes begged. "We'll wake her if we yell." The man's eyes softened slightly at the innocence of his daughter's plea.

"Take your mother to the waiting room. I'll be along shortly." His voice was low and sad and the girl did as she was told. As soon as the two were out of sight, the man turned to JJ and offered her his hand. She took it tentatively. "Forgive me doamnă. I did not mean to cause you harm."

"It's alright." JJ raised an eyebrow. "Seems like I've been spending the majority of my time on the floor anyway."

"My name is Michel Valerious." He said quietly. "I am sorry for the trouble. I just…when we heard what happened to Ana, I…"

"We understand." Rossi said calmly. The man nodded his appreciation. "How long has it been since you saw your daughter Mr. Valerious?"

"Three years." Michel lowered his head in embarrassment. "She was fourteen when she ran away from home."

"Fourteen?" Reid. "You're saying she's only seventeen years old?" Michel nodded.

"Sir, we only recently found out your daughter's name." Hotch explained. "Would it be alright if we sat down and talked about the events that led us here?"

"Will you tell me what happened to her?" he asked adamantly.

"If you'd like to hear, yes." Hotch quietly led the man down the hall and into an empty room, leaving the rest alone in the hallway.

"Are you alright?" Morgan turned to JJ who scoffed.

"Sick of people trying to fight me, that's for sure." She crossed her arms and hid a wince at the increased pressure. The men laughed.

"How about we see what Ana's mother has to say about all this?" Rossi led the group to the waiting room where Mrs. Valerious and her youngest daughter sat in silence.

"JJ, will you talk to the girl?" Morgan suggested. "Rossi can talk to the mother."

"Why me?" Rossi pouted.

"Because you're used to dealing with distraught women." Morgan quipped, causing the older man to smile.

"Ain't that the truth." He said before entering the room with JJ in tow.

"Mrs. Valerious?" JJ drew her attention. "We'd like to speak to you and your daughter about Ana. Is that alright?"

"Yes." The woman's accent was thicker than her husband's. Hopefully Rossi wouldn't have a problem with it. The older agent introduced himself and led the woman to another room. JJ took her place beside the girl.

"Hi. My name's Jennifer." She extended her hand. "What's yours?"

"Alexia." The small girl shook it shyly before returning to the task of picking at her dress. Her eyes, the same as her sisters and father's, were glued to the tiles on the floor.

"That's a very nice name." JJ commented with a smile.

"Momma likes names with As." Alexia informed her quietly, still refusing to meet her gaze. JJ chuckled softly.

"My mom does too." JJ said, only to receive a confused look from the girl.

"Jennifer doesn't start with an A." JJ laughed.

"That's right but my older sister's name is Andrea and my brother's name is Adam." She left out the nasty details.

"You have a big sister too?" Alexia looked amused and JJ nodded in return.

"Alexia," she leaned a little closer to the girl and watched as she played with her jet black braid. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened three years ago."

"When Ana got sad?" the little girl's eyes danced around the room- anywhere but JJ's gaze.

"Yea. Can you tell me what happened that made Ana sad?" JJ almost immediately regretted asking as the girl leapt out of her seat and ran across the room. Pressing her back against the wall, Alexia covered her ears and shook her head wildly.

"No! I won't tell!" she screamed. "I won't tell, never, ever, ever!"

"Alexia, please." JJ approached cautiously. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me."

"Ana will get sad! I don't want her to leave again!" Alexia cried, tears streaming down her face as she continued to shake her head. JJ lurched forward and took the little girl's hands in hers. Her entire body was shaking with a fear JJ hadn't seen in years.

"It's alright, it's okay. We don't have to talk about it. Ana won't get sad." JJ cooed as the girl continued to wail. JJ's heart broke for her and she moved to wrap her arms around the girl's shoulders. Alexia fell into JJ's chest and continued to cry to the point of hysteria, staining the blonde's shirt with tears. JJ soothed the girl's hair and rocked her gently before picking her up. She was small for her age and JJ carried her effortlessly back to the table. She continued to rock her until the cries were almost nonexistent and Alexia slowly fell asleep in her arms. JJ saw the bewildered faces of Reid and Morgan as they watched through the glass door. Shaking her head, JJ wondered what this family had gone through that made speaking about it all but impossible.

So I believe we're almost done with our tale :( but I do have a question for you guys: do you want to see a trial (won't say whose) or would you rather just get the results of one? Please let me know ASAP!